A moment of silence for the late, great Chadwick Boseman. He will be missed.
Finally...!
At last! The time had come. It was now the night before the second-years graduated — the night before the graduation ceremony.
After all the paperwork they'd had to put into this, Maria swore that anyone who disrupted it would be defenestrated.
Pleasantly, no one had to be defenestrated.
The usual vapid, stupid and useless swooned at Lord Ascart when he smiled, but they did not disrupt the proceedings. Maria's biggest regret, hers and Prince Alan's, was that they had not been able to use the purple candles they had worked so hard to source and order, since the ceremony and the majority of the party would take place during the day. The small test batch that had been made were stuck in the Student Council's supply closet, meaning they'd be working in purple candlelight next year. A pity. The local alchemist guild had worked so hard on the test batch. Well, at least they'd gotten some bloodstains out of it. The Alchemist Guild at Estus had told them a local lady, one Lady Miriam, had been fascinated by the purple flames and had ordered a batch for her estate. So there was that…
Lord Ascart had represented the graduating students, giving the graduation address. Maria had represented the students who had yet to graduate. It should have been the Third Prince, but due to the classes he had missed while Lady Claes had been under the spell of Dark Magic, his grades had fallen behind, leaving Maria in the lead and slated to become the Student Council's Head Clerk in the coming school year. The Third Prince had tried all he could to change things short of actual abuse of power, staying up late, studying and even getting the reluctant help of the fellow members of Lady Claes' lustful and competitive entourage but it was to no avail. Unless the Prince abused his power in a truly petty way, the members had needed to resign themselves to Maria's reign.
Thus begins the tyranny of Miss President Maria Campbell, of the Student Council.
There were many stares as Maria gave her own address. As she hadn't had much money to have a dress made, she had used one of the many uniforms from the practical exam as yet unaltered to fashion herself a formal suit appropriate to the occasion. Noble ladies had been expected to attend the event in dresses, but what was that to her? She was a commoner after all, and in a huge but understandable oversight, no one had ever bothered to codify a dress code for commoners in formal events. The few who would attend would be military officers or merchants, and thus expected to be either in dress uniform of suits themselves. Really, Maria was merely following the established convention.
It certainly wasn't because slaughtering her prey had made her nostalgic for her old hunter's garb. Not at all! She didn't even have a broach for her cravat, having needed to make do with a small pink wildflower. She was a dirt-poor commoner, after all! She had been in such a hurry this morning that she'd only had time to tie her hair in a tail with a bit of spare ribbon. It had gotten a bit long, since with all the council affairs she'd had no time to cut her hair.
The stares continued as she stepped down from the podium and the graduation ceremony continued. It seemed her garb was found very offensive by some people. Many had turned red, surely in outrage at her flouting of noble convention. Well, she was a commoner, not a noble. There was nothing she could do about it.
She scanned the assembly for a flash of red hair, but though there were many, it was not the one she sought.
Afterwards came the graduation party.
The new graduates were given bouquets as congratulatory gifts. Maria was amused to see that Lady Claes had given Lord Ascart a bouquet made of freshly harvested vegetables from her garden. Prince Alan had laughed. So had his brother, though with a bit more discretion. Lord Claes had simply looked resigned.
"Copying me?" Lord Ascart said, gesturing at his own cravat. Indeed, he was the only other one among the council who wore it in that way, with the princes and Lord Claes securing their shirt collars with silk neckties. Personally Maria thought it was an absurd fashion, essentially wearing a noose on one's neck.
"Not at all, Lord Ascart," Maria said, bowing. She must have cleared the line of sight to Lord Ascart's face for someone at the gesture, for there were high-pitched cries of swooning women behind her. "We wear them quite differently." Indeed, Lord Ascart's was much narrower and with less body.
Lord Ascart smiled. There were more swooning sounds. "I suppose they are," he said.
Next to her, Lady Claes seemed to sway for a moment. Hmm? Even Lady Claes was not immune to Lord Ascart? And yet the man had never abused this to his advantage. Maria suddenly felt much better inclined towards him.
"Are you all right, Lady Claes?" Maria inquired.
The lady in question shook herself. "You know Maria, you're the only person I've ever met who isn't affected by Nicol's smiles," she said with her usual concerning and childish lack of tact. "Why is that? Don't you think Nicol is pretty?"
Maria blinked, tilting her head and looking at Lord Ascart, who had on a subtle expression that said he was used to this as Prince Alan let out another bark of laughter. "I suppose one could say he is pretty, in a generic sort of way," Maria said, knowing that women's talk was beyond the divide of nobles and commoners and thus anything she said was beyond the judgement, "but honestly, I'd don't really understand the appeal."
Prince Alan nearly collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach.
Lady Ascart sniffed. "Casul," she muttered like some sort of judgement.
The party moved on. The princes, Maria's surprise, had agreed to perform for their lessers, an instrumental duet that for once had the Third Prince in the lesser role as Prince Alan led with his piano.
Lady Claes was eating an amount of cakes that would have been concerning had she been anyone else, but with Lady Claes was considered only slightly above normal. Maria had to wonder where it was all going. Was it all going to her chest? It certainly seemed like it.
Maria scanned the crowd again, but there were no flashes of red she gave a damn about. Not even any hidden knifeplay resulting in bloodshed. She sighed and went to get herself a drink.
Unfortunately but expectedly, there were no blood cocktails. Not even red wine. Only white wines, white wines with a ridiculous amount of bubbles, juices bereft of any spirits whatsoever.
As she was about to risk one of the fruit juices, the heard someone come up to her from behind and turned, casually placing two fingers on the dagger in her sleeve.
She let go as she saw it was only Lady Claes, looking strangely determined for some reason. "Lady Claes? Can I help you with something?"
Lady Claes, looking like a child about to do something brave like go into the dark room without a candle, said, "Miss Campbell, is there anyone you like?"
Maria sighed. "Lady Claes, I thought you'd be over this strange obsession with my prospects by now." Why was she so interested? Perhaps it was merely a habit formed, given that betrothals were so common among nobles? Did she think Maria interesting for not having one? How cute. "It is my business, to be left well enough alone."
Lady Claes still looked determined, though. "So, you don't have anyone you like? S-someone whose side you'd like to stay by forever?"
"I could answer, but in return I will never be able to make sweets again…" Maria said.
Lady Claes froze, eyes opening wide with existential horror, as if the eldritch truths of the world had been laid bare to her.
(Katarina Claes: +50 Insight)
Taking one of the glasses filled with juice, Maria made an expeditious retreat.
After the graduation party, they all retreated to the student council room to hold a farewell party for Lord Nicol. She and Prince Alan had lit the room with the purple-flamed candles.
"Why are you two invoking the most harrowing experience of our lives?" Lady Hunt said flatly.
"I like it! It's a lot cooler than regular candles," Lady Claes said.
"You're absolutely right, Lady Katarina!" Lady Hunt sycophanted. It was sad, amusing and disturbing.
Lord Ascart's enigmatic smile took on an amused tinge. "Thank you all for coming today," he said.
"Come visit us at the school whenever you like, brother," Lady Ascart said. "You'll fall behind the others if you don't."
Oh? How interesting. A romance by proxy? No wonder Lord Ascart was more restrained than the others if this was mostly to placate his sister. Maria wanted to be disappointed in the girl, but honestly, this was the most reasonable approach to her unwomanly love for Lady Claes, far more so than Lady Hunt's blatant lust.
A small selection of foods arranged with the kitchen staff were set at the table, half of which were cakes that would likely go to Lady Claes. Maria had contributed some sweets, also likely earmarked for her.
There was also a pot of tea that had already steeped when they arrived. Lady Hunt served Lady Claes first and left them all to get their own. Maria was about to take a drink when Lady Claes' eyes went wide, and she stared down at her cup. Maria paused, then eyed her teacup suspiciously. Was there poison of some sort? She sniffed it intently, trying to discern…
She froze, stared into the tea in disbelief, and then drank deeply. It almost burned, but she didn't care, consuming the gentle flavor as if it were the richest blood fresh from the Queen Annalise's veins. She stared at the tea once more, then set it down, rose, and rushed to the teapot. Was there some clue, some indication…?
The door opened, and a familiar tread entered.
"President!" she heard Lady Claes exclaim.
Why was there a snapping sound? No matter. Maria turned to stare at Rafael Walt, who stood just inside the room, wearing simple clothes.
"Ah, I'm not the student council president anymore, but thank you for inviting me," he said, sounding rehearsed as he stared at Maria with wide eyes. "…angel…"
Maria bowed. "How good of you to finally visit, Mister former-Head Clerk."
Rafael squirmed a little. "S-sorry. We were very busy, getting that woman arrested, collecting evidence, watching her get executed…" A dreamy smile came over his face.
Maria nodded. "Perfectly understandable. Your vengeance was very important to you. Much more than anything else. I'm glad for you."
"Yes, but that's all over now," Rafael said. "Now, I have to follow my mother's last words."
"I see. Well, I suppose that would make anyone busy, following the last request of their loved one," Maria said, nodding. "Are you returning to school to continue your education?"
"Ah, no, I can no longer return to the academy," Rafael said. "That's woman's arrest and execution were too well-publicized, and too many know the face of Sirius Dieke. Besides, that's not my life anymore."
"Technically, you are still the last living son of Marquis Dieke," Maria said. "Do you not have a claim to the title still?"
Rafael snorted. "No. Too much paperwork."
Maria nodded. Yes, that was a perfectly understandable reason.
("Do they realize we're still in the room?" Mary Hunt murmured.)
("Shut up and let them talk!" Sophia hissed back)
"I see," Maria said. "Well, I wish you good luck in your endeavors."
"Ah, about that," Rafael said hurriedly, before taking a deep breath. "There are… some things I still need to do."
"Oh?" Maria said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," Rafael said, then paused. "I… never thanked you for freeing me from that spirit. It was a shadow over me I never realized was there until you drove it away. Thanks to you, I could dream of a future beyond revenge."
Maria watched as Rafael Walt bowed low.
"From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to have that dream. I will treasure it for the rest of my life. Thank you… Maria Campbell."
("(Sigh)" Sophia sighed dreamily)
"You took those lines from Lady Claes," Maria accused.
Rafael blinked, then straightened as a look of panic came over his features. "I… I didn't mean…!"
"Oh, you didn't mean them?" Maria said. "Then why say them?"
(Alan started to laugh. Mary, in a rare show of support for Maria, started to strangle her fiancée into silence. His brother, looking distinctly amused, help her turn Alan's scarf into a gag.)
Rafael coughed. "Miss Campbell, would you take a walk with me?"
"Oh? Are you trying to get me alone for some nefarious purpose, former-Head Clerk?"
Rafael paused. For an endless, endless moment, he paused.
Then he nodded. "Yes. I am."
Maria… smiled. And rose from her chair. "Then let us take a walk then. Would you like some cookies? I made them myself."
"I would love some."
Walking a good three feet apart, they left the student council room.
Inside, they all listened as their footsteps gradually faded away.
Nicol quietly stood up, walked to the door, then peeked outside. Then he nodded and closed the door with a smile. "They were holding hands."
"Lewd," Sophia said with a grin.
Keith smirked. "He didn't even say hi."
Katarina Claes rocketed out of her chair, thrusting a fist in the air. "YES!"
Maria Formal Suit Set
Among the first-years, all students of the Academy, was the commoner Light Magic wielder Maria.
This was her formal suit, crafted originally in Estus and modified by Maria, plain garb without decorative embroidery or hardened leather protective layers.
Maria suspects she is related to Katarina Claes, and has grown greatly fond of the younger woman, unaware of Katarina's curious mania with her own dreadful fate.